


Iron (the Second)

by animangod



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Claiming, Fae & Fairies, Fairies, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Gen, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Magic, Mild Language, Vampire Family, Vampire Hunters, Vampire Slayer(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2020-03-14 18:39:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18953506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animangod/pseuds/animangod
Summary: This is a rewrite of Iron, originally written for the Dreamwidth KuroFai Olympics year 2015.Everything was fine until an army of rogue vampires came out of vampiric territory and killed for the fun of it.In the case of kill or be killed, Kurogane chose to kill rather than be killed. But more than eight years have passed since that first bloody night and he finds himself being sold to the very vampire that assisted with his capture.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Iron](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/484918) by Animangod. 



Many generations had come and gone and for the average person, vampires had become as much part of mythology as dragons and the faie, stories exaggerated and mischaracterized and over glorified. Few outside a vampiric domain truly knew of their existence prior to the night of Reckoning.

 

Over the centuries, some individuals struck out on their own and survived how they could; however most chose to live in a clan. There were a couple hundred clans of vampires, and each demanded a different level of respect and power. 

 

Those vampires - rogues - who posed a threat to the long established peace were ordered to be killed, a task assigned to those of elite clans. Those assigned to kill the rogues were called Hunters. It was the best way they had found to retain their peaceful coexistence with their food sources.

 

Things changed on the night of Reckoning. Led by a vampire formerly from an elite clan, an army of rogue vampires shattered the long established peace in one tracic, horribly bloody evening. Going to towns and cities not under vampiric domain, it became a massacre as the humans had very little at their disposal to protect themselves. It was like slaughtering cattle for the joy of slaughtering, as very little of the blood shed was even eaten.

 

Some of the people fought back, fighting to protect their people and several chose to flee or to hide, hoping it would be enough to save them. Vampires from many of the clans joined the battle to protect the humans, and nearly half of the vampires that fought that night lost their life.

 

After the night of Reckoning, there was a large revival of a need to persevere.

 

Some humans learned there were vampires with influence, clans of vampires, who would offer deals for safety and or financial wealth, in exchange for the promise of their services, and the promise of safety swayed many hearts, choosing a life of working for a vampire and giving of their blood in order to assure they or their family were safe from the rogues.

 

Still more buried deeper into their denial, that these  _ things _ weren't real, there was no way  _ vampires _ were alive and real. Others assumed it simply wasn't their problem, because it wasn't  _ them _ who had been affected. Yet.

 

And then, there were those that struck out at the vampires, choosing to kill them rather than to wait to be killed. Those who trained to fight were called Slayers and many killed rogues vampires as well as known vampires simply for their heritage. They became yet another problem for the clans of vampires, swaying hearts with the promise of freedom from the rogues.

 

Blood Auctions - an auction held with several humans and clan members looking to either sell or buy services -  were nothing new. All vampire clans were welcome to attend, although those members with no Claims had the first chance with the human sellers.

 

However, a new Auction popped up after the night of Reckoning. An Auction for those Slayers they managed to catch alive. Only elite clans were invited as it was agreed they would have the experience necessary to put a Claim on one and be held fully responsible for the human. 

 

Two months and eight years has passed since the night of Reckoning.

 

* * *

 

Kurogane was among those not killed in those first few months, those first years, and rather than sell himself, he chose the path of the sword, the path of the Slayer.

 

His father worked with metal and had forged a sword made of silver and damascus steel. Strong and beautiful, it had served his father well when he called upon his strength and the strength of the sword to defend and protect those that mattered to him when their village was under siege.

 

Kurogane studied under his father smithing and how to fight with the tools he had available, and he studied cooking and herbal medicine under his mother's guidance, as he had no talent for making the wards his mother made that helped hide them from being tracked.

 

Eight months after the night of Reckoning, Kurogane witnessed his father fighting a horde of vampires along with the townsfolk as his mother hid those unable to stand up to the rogue vampires. He watched as they whittled at the people's strength, attacking and backing off, tearing at them with claws, as his father gave out orders, leading the townsfolk in the fight. His mother held him close and he watched in horror when his father was ripped apart before him, his arm sent flying in their direction, and landing amidst the bushes, a death grip on the sword in his hand.

 

As much as his father had intended to join them, he was only successful in thinning the rogue numbers as he didn't live through the battle. Only after the remaining vampires fled for new blood and carnage, did they mourn their loss. But there was little time to say a proper goodbye to their loved ones. They built a large fire, cremating the dead, vampire and human alike. Kurogane held onto his father's sword as he watched his mother gently close his father's eyes and place his remains amongst the fire. He felt as though a piece of his heart had died that day, and he swore he would get stronger, strong enough he could kill the vampires that had done this.

 

Five years later, and Kurogane lost his mother as well. They still lived in the same village and worked hard with the remaining folk. One day, his mother had heard a noise and told him to fetch his father's sword. He listened to his mother’s instructions, drawing the sword from its sheath, and went back to his mother, so he could protect her, but the choice was taken from him as he arrived back, wood from the ceiling speared her, as a vampire came through the ceiling and towards his dying mother. The scent of spilled blood drew them like sharks, coming for the blood. He stood by his mother’s side and killed every last one that got near them. All he could do was make them pay for the death of his father, for his mother, for everyone that had died. He swore he’d make them pay for what they’d done.

 

Days after, he was visited by a beautiful girl, appearing not even half his own age. She stepped amid the corpses, a gentleness to the small frown she wore as she walked over.

 

“Who are you?” he spoke, holding the sword defensively, ready to strike if need be.

 

She smiled softly, “my name is Tomoyo. I have come here, to see your mother, Tsubame.”

 

"How do you know that name?”

 

“I have the ability to see into dreams. People dream before they die, and it was her wish for me to help her only son."

 

Kurogane stood guard by his mother’s frame, even as he let the child step closer. Tomoyo gently placed a hand against her face, slowly closing Tsubame's eyes. “let’s let your mother sleep, shall we.”

 

Kurogane stood there, before his grip shook and his father's sword fell at his feet. Tears dripped down his face, unbidden and unrelenting, as they expressed what words failed him. He slowly fell to his knees as sobs racked his body and he reached a hand out to hold his mother's hand in his own. The people he loved, he failed to keep them safe from the murderous vampires. He had felt a hole grow in his heart when he had to watch his father die. It only grew larger with the death of his mother. 

 

Tomoyo gently set a hand against his shoulder; she could not take the pain away, but she could be there for him as he grieved. He cried until he fell asleep from exhaustion.

 

When he awoke, Tomoyo made them a simple yet nutritious breakfast since he had not eaten since the night he lost his mother, and they’d both need their strength. After filling their stomachs, Tomoyo helped him gather what supplies still remained before they went to his father's smithy.

 

Iron was not a weapon against the vampires, not really, but Tomoyo had encouraged him to use what wrought iron he had at his disposal to make it a part of his armour.

 

They spent many hours fixing up a set of his own armour to guard against bites and claws. What silver remained was in small bulk or in sliver size, so was used sparingly.

 

There wasn’t enough of the metals left to make a lot of new armour so Kurogane and Tomoyo worked together and made a shoulder pad for his left shoulder, and took advantage of premade armour, armour he originally began to make for someone else but they perished the very same week he was finishing it up. The armour was lacquered, the black finish making it waterproof. There were visible pinkish red cross-stitch seams since that’s what they had to work with.

 

Since the armour was larger than he, they made do, adding extra layers of cloth, as a way to pad it and tucked small things of value between them, things that would make their life a little easier. Little notes in the form of trinkets were tucked away and sealed between layers as an added precaution. 

 

Kurogane had the idea to add a collar around his throat. Just like people used on their dogs to protect them against wolf attacks, he made himself a collar that was a bit too large now, but that meant he had time and could grow into it without risk of loss of breath. To ascertain it would stay on, Kurogane suffered through small burns on the back of his neck as the price of not being able to take off the collar, fitted with silver plated spikes. Tomoyo fetched cold waters to soothe the burns once the collar was finished being set into place. 

 

Tomoyo asked afterwards if he would like her to perform a protection spell, a way for her to still help him should they get separated. He wasn't entirely sure what the protection spell did, but she seemed to genuinely care, so he let her. He felt the spell against his forehead, a tingling warmth before it settled  inside and he couldn't actively feel it anymore but knew it was still there.

 

While Tomoyo could build a barrier to protect herself and those around her, she did not fight. Instead, in the time she spent with Kurogane, she helped out with other tasks. She gathered water, herbs, fruits and berries, legumes and nuts, food that could provide for them.

 

She taught Kurogane further about medicine, and had him teach her her how to make fires, and helped patch up his injuries. Although she was not related, he began to refer to her as his little sister. Both verbally and mentally.

 

The years passed as Kurogane fished and hunted deer to provide for them. He hunted and killed vampires so they would not kill them. When they could, they took advantage of an empty home, and when an occupied home offered hospitality to the vampire Slayer and his little sister, they helped out how they could to ease the family’s life as well. Collecting firewood, cooking dinner, washing dishes, whatever they could do to help.

 

They avoided larger cities. Between civilians who made deals with the vampires, whether for profit or for protection, and the vampires themselves, it was more often a trap for a known vampire slayer, but even the forest wasn't safe, as they had other allies.

 

Eight years and two months had passed since the night of Reckoning, and Kurogane was in the midst of cleaning up from the latest deer kill. In order to clean up, he went to a nearby lake. The sky was overcast that day - a double-edged sword - making it perfect vampire weather. While vampires would not die due to the sun’s light, it did make most lethargic from a decrease of energy associated with the light and heat of the sun. Because it was overcast, he surveyed the area and when he found no viable threat, he let his guard down a little.

 

Setting his things down on the embankment, he took a swim in the chilly waters, surfacing near the middle of the lake. He looked around a little as he rubbed the water over his skin, to get the feel and smell of blood and sweat off his skin when he felt a chill crawl down his spine. At first, he guessed it was the water, so he swam back towards the shoreline. Shaking off some of the water, he was still drenched as he began to put his clothes and armour back on, when his senses went on danger alert mode.

 

Besides the lake in the clearing of the trees, there didn’t seem to be anything super close by, and yet, he thought he heard the quiet sound of laughter. He knew it was not Tomoyo as she had a very unique laugh he was sure he would recognize anywhere. He scanned the area, and at the other end of the lake, he spotted something.

 

At first glance, it reminded him of a smooth white rock yet just slightly more pointed at the top and fuzzy. Upon further gazing, it looked to have little limbs and feathery bird like wings and was just floating in the air. Something about seeing it rang a few alarm bells in his brain. Why they were going on, it took a few moments to put things together.  This was a trap.

 

Worried for Tomoyo’s safety, he just hoped her barrier would be enough to protect her from the creature, and any or all of its accomplices. But just in case, he hollered out. “Tsukihime! Stay Hidden!” He didn’t want her coming for him if it meant they’d go after her as well. Using Tsukihime instead of Tomoyo should have tipped her off that there was a potential threat nearby, and one that could possibly have access to name magick. If she could stay hidden until the threat was over, that’d be best. He had lost everyone else he cared for; he didn't want to lose her too.

 

He stared at the winged creature. Unlike the vampires he had come across, where most resembled humans in form but held a different physiology and golden eyes, this creature held no obvious resemblance to humans. It didn’t take him long to guess it was related to the faie, but there was very little public knowledge left of what faie were like or capable of. The few records of faie were mixed, regarding them between benevolent and malicious, spiteful and vengeful, or kind and helpful, perhaps depending on who they crossed paths with. The only thing that was well documented was that iron burns them and they expected some sort of compensation for their services. He wondered if Tomoyo knew he would one day cross paths with faie and that's why she had encouraged him to use the wrought iron.

 

Dandelion seeds soon took flight and scattered with the breeze, as the smaller, seed-riding faie sung their enchantment. Whatever the things were chanting begun to affect him, and he grabbed his sword, unsheathing it. It took effort to keep his eyes open the more the faie sang. He rubbed at his eyes with one hand, as he made his way towards the forest trees. He swung his sword and sheath at the seeds and scattered several of them off course, delaying the enchantment as he kept slowly making his way towards the treeline. His attention kept shifting to the tiny voices to the feathered one, before he noticed something was walking closer to the floating thing from the other side of the lake. But he couldn't make out enough details to be sure of what it was he saw,. However, as strong willed as he was, the spell slowly wore through his defenses and took its effect, as his world faded in and out.

 

He heard words come from the other side of the lake but they barely registered in his ears as he fell heavily to the ground, the incantation pulling him into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The Valeria clan had set up their territory in the mountains where fertile lands stretching on for many miles. Because of their location within the mountains, most months saw the sun for about four to six hours each day, while full out night was also as long. Although plant life wasn’t necessary for their specific survival, plants fed their food, which was their primary reason for growing crops in the first place. So it fed what fed them and that was what was important.

 

The clan’s second prince was already considered blessed, his wife having successfully delivered two children. Yuui quite often helped with the gardening efforts. He liked to watch the green things grow, and he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. Yuui liked taking care of the food but his twin brother, Fai, liked to care for the “Food”.

 

Fai enjoyed caring for the animals, making sure they were comfortable and clean, that they were getting enough food. Sometimes he sang made up songs to them or play games with the children and look after them as they grew older.

 

Yuui made friends with nature itself, the plants and water and the rocks around, while Fai made friends with the animals, the faie, and the humans located within their territory.

 

Near the time of Reckoning, they were blessed with a baby sister named Chii. Their mother, Freya, couldn’t have been more proud than when she held her baby daughter, successful in delivering three children. Most vampires birthed one, maybe two, offspring in their whole lifetime, and she had brought in a third life. Fai and Yuui adored their baby sister, and showed it in different ways.

 

But things changed for their clan on the night of Reckoning - their mother Freya became the new leader of their clan. Fai thought he was somehow to blame for them losing their father that night, and would help track rogues and Slayers afterwards. Not willing to kill them himself, he provided the information so an actual Hunter could take out the rogue while their faie allies would assist in the capture of Slayers. Of course, even with providing help, he still had to go through the same buying process as any other elite clan member if he wanted to take care of a Slayer. It just meant some of the cost was already taken care of ahead of time.

 

More than eight years had passed since then and Chii was now the size of a human nine month old, and while she could support her body in a sitting up position, she still had not walked and the only word she said was her own name. Freya was usually busy handling clan affairs but never too busy to spend some time with her children.

 

Fai had helped with yet another capture, giving the information to the faie and when the trap was set for the Slayer, he stayed far enough away, there was no risk of being affected by the spell of the faie, but close enough he could get back to tracking the human if something went wrong. He peeked out from behind a tree, trying to keep a visual of the human while the enchantment began. However, it seemed the human realized something was wrong faster than they anticipated, calling to an unknown to stay hidden. He watched as he swung, smacking seeds and faie with the flat end of both sword and sheath as he attempted to escape. And as he walked towards Mokona, he could tell he wasn't as invisible beneath Mokona's barrier as he was accustomed to being. He was surprised because he had not come across a human who could see into a faie barrier before.

 

It was something unusual and it was one of several reasons that when the next Slayer Auction was scheduled, he decided to go and see about buying the Slayer who could see through Mokona's barrier.

 

* * *

 

As Kurogane became to awake, he heard voices around him. That was not a good sign; there shouldn't be multiple voices. He slowly forced his eyes open to see what was going on, staying quiet as he initially looked about. He was definitely not in the forest anymore. The air was cool and he felt like he was underground somewhere. There were small creatures, some only as tall as a tiny fingernail flitting around, while others were no taller than a young kid in the room, with a distinctly non-humanness to their features. Some had skin taut against bone structure, others looked more rugged as though their skin was made from tiny pebbles and most seemed to have unusually large eyes. Their heads were slightly pointed and spoke a language he failed to understand. The room was not large, the walls luminescent with some kind of biological matter - grasses and vines from the looks of things. Worse yet, his sword and sheath were missing.

 

As he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, some of the creatures moved further away as they saw voluntary movement from him, chittering louder.

 

_ "He may be strong, but he's still just a human. Use the standard anchoring restraints."** _

 

Kurogane began to shuffle further away from them before the restraints set into place, forcing his ankles into one another and his wrists into one another. Kurogane saw the low light on his wrists and ankles, and began trying to get out of them, before glaring over at the vampire, blaming him for them. "Where have you taken me?"

 

"You can't break those restraints yourself, you know."

 

"You didn't answer my question. Where is this place?" Kurogane demanded as he continued to try and break out of them

 

"This... this here is Processing."

 

"Processing for what?"

 

"For auction, of course."

 

"Auction!? I never agreed to that!" As far as he knew, people had to choose that, not the other way around.

 

“Anyone in your line of work should be aware this is what happens when you are caught, that you will be auctioned off to whichever clan member is willing to pay for you capture and be held responsible for you."

 

“Sorry, that was not in the pamphlet you guys left after murdering my hometown for the third time," Kurogane said snidely.

 

The vampire looked conflicted for only a moment before making a neutral face once again, "even so, the past is in the past and the future will not change. In five days, you and the other Slayers we have caught will be sold off."

 

Kurogane tried again to twist his hands free of the faie spell to no avail. He looked at the vampire, eventually asking, "Was anyone else ensnared by your faie tricks?"

"I'm surprised you know it was the faie ... however you are not the first nor the last the faie will help us catch."

 

"That's not what…" he paused in his efforts, in order to sort out his words, "was...where your faie found me, was there anyone else?"

 

"... " the vampire looked to his faie allies.

 

There was brief chatter from them, but the consensus was the same, and the vampire turned his gaze back on Kurogane. 

 

"They state there was no other human, Slayer or otherwise, in your vicinity."

 

Kurogane quietly let out a relieved breath.  _ That means she's still out there _ .

 

The faie chatted and tittered as the one vampire wrote notes.

 

“Rest assured, you shall get your payment within the day, my friends.”

 

There was cheering noises before the processing vampire turned his attention back onto Kurogane as though to reassure him of his fate.

 

"You might as well get comfortable. This time next week, you'll be in the care of someone from an elite clan."

 

Soon, there was the sound of soft shuffling, and the faie moved to crowd around the new person to the room. Kurogane quickly looked over because he hadn't heard a door open and yet there was now another in the room. Pale skin, pale hair, large golden eyes and dressed entirely in white, he walked halfway over. If nothing else, the faie seemed to enjoy his presence.

 

"There you are, Kakyo. What fortune have your dreams said?"

 

"Let him keep his armour. We will make more from his sale that way."

 

"Very well." The first vampire made a written note that the armour was included.

 

Even if he couldn't break the restraints himself, Kurogane shuffled slowly until he could lean against the wall behind him. If they expected him to get even remotely comfortable, he wanted to at least protect his back from them.

 

* * *

 

Having received an invitation to the Slayer Auction, Fai went to it and wandered through looking at the different Slayers available. Yuui was not with him that time, since he went to a Blood Auction so he brought his sister instead. He held her atop his shoulders, her hands gripping his hair as she looked around. Fai noticed some of the Slayers had been stripped of near all clothing, left with enough to be decent, but things like hats and shoes had all been taken away.

 

Halfway through looking at the available Slayers, she tugged on her brother’s hair to try and point out one, “Chii!” 

 

At the small tug, Fai looked over at Kurogane, seeing he was still clad in his armour. He gently set one hand on top of hers and smiled even if she couldn’t see it. He bided his time as he looked at the others, inspecting the quality of care and their stats, before making it in front of Kurogane and sizing him up. The human stood taller than he by nearly the length of a hand.

 

And while some of them had chosen to sit down rather than stand, he refused to bow his back or sit in front of them, and occasionally would try to break the restraints. The man silently paid attention to what they said around him while scowling and looking at everyone with disapproval.

 

Fai thought his disapproving scowl was cute, and after looking at the stats displayed about him, he casually looked at the rest. He already knew which Slayer he wanted.

 

Once all the members attending the auction had a chance to look at the selection available, some left not finding what they were looking for while those that remained waited near the Slayer they were interested in buying. Fai and Chii waited near Kurogane. There were others of course, others that saw his armour and his resilient personality, and Fai noticed that while some of them wanted Kurogane so they could use his skills, others wanted to personally break his spirit. Fai had no intention of letting them break him.

 

Once it got down to selling, unless the human you wanted was being sold at that moment, Auctions of any sort were incredulously boring affairs of standing around and waiting, before the real action happened as you bid and outbid others for the human of your choosing, until the price went too high and the other participants dropped out of the running. Well sought after ones went much higher than others, while those with only a couple of takers would stay relatively low or be quite high - it all depended on how much a clan member was willing to pay to get them.

 

Six hours passed as others were sold and there were only a couple of Slayers that remained. Fai was not sure if it was intentional that they saved the most dangerous for last, for those with enough patience to wait out the ordeal for one of the harder to catch Slayers. If it was, that was good thinking as it weeded out a few less serious buyers and wore on the Slayers as well, while if it was unintentional, then perhaps they should get more auctioneers. Six hours was a long time to wait for the same human. Chii slept in his lap for much of the time, up until they announced Kurogane was to be auctioned off.

 

Fai picked her up and nestled Chii in the crook of an arm as he stood up to be actively seen as a contender for Kurogane. He silently studied the remaining competition as the auctioneer announced his stats. Some he knew for a fact he could outbid them - others were a little more plentiful, and it would turn into a battle of wills, of who was willing to pay what it took to get Kurogane.  _ No matter _ , Fai thought as he was determined that Kurogane was coming home with him.

 

Fai offered up the initial request, and others quickly outbid him. When the bid slowed down, Fai offered a bid just slightly higher. Just because he was determined to win the auction,  he didn't want to spend more than he had to to win Kurogane. This drew on for a while before Fai finally outbid the rest. By then, the last two Slayers were being prepared to be sold off and some of the contenders for Kurogane moved on to try and win one of the last two instead.

 

Kurogane clicked his tongue in disapproval because it was something he was still free to do.

 

"Chii, I have to go fill paperwork out so we can bring him home with us. Will you please look out for him in the meantime?"

 

"Chii," she said affirmatively.

 

"Thank you, Chii." Giving her cheek a kiss, he stretched and set Chii on Kurogane's shoulder, before cooing at how cute they looked as Chii grabbed ahold  of some of Kurogane's hair.

 

"Alright~ play nice with my baby sister. I'll be back for both of you soon~" Fai said cheerfully before skipping off to fill out the paperwork.

 

Kurogane tched at him, "idiot."

 

Fai signed the papers and he was thankful he had been offering assistance for the past eight years, as his out of pocket cost wasn't that large a payment to make.

 

When Fai returned, he smiled as he saw Chii was still seated on the man's shoulder. He guessed he was right about leaving her with him. Whether out of the same pride that meant he had refused to bow his back or kneel in front of their kind no matter how much it would be easier on himself, or he just wasn't heartless enough to try and harm a child, the Slayer had made no efforts to drop Chii off his shoulder. 

 

"Thank you for watching him, Chii~" Fai cooed adoringly at her as he gently scooped her up and set her on his shoulders once again.

 

"Chii," she said happily, the man's hair falling from her grasp as Fai lifted her off of him, and when she was back on Fai's shoulders, she returned to grabbing at his hair between her small hands.

 

"Alright, time to take you home with us," Fai happily beamed.

 

"Go bury yourself," Kurogane snapped at him.

 

"Now, now, that's no way to talk in front of a little kid," Fai teased.

 

"I think you can handle it."

 

"Hyuu how sweet. Chii~ he thinks I'm a little kid."

 

"Chii," she replied.

 

"So Mr Scowly Slayer… what's your name?"

 

"... it's Kurogane…"

* * *

* * *

 

Note: The ** in this chapter was so the reader knows what the vampire said.  It was spoken to the faie in their language.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mother, we're back~" Fai said happily as soon as they were inside his home before he turned towards Kurogane, “Mother is in charge around here now. Father was briefly in charge but… that really awful night cost him his life as he fought the rogues."

 

"Rogues?"

 

"Rogues are the ones you usually took out… as a whole, we don't like to kill others unless it is absolutely necessary for survival, but rogues don't care about survival. Theirs, ours or humans."

 

Kurogane made a quiet grunt at that.

 

“Is this the Slayer you wanted, Fai?” Freya asked as she opened a door and stepped into the hall by them.

 

Fai smiled brighter as he turned around, walking up and handing Chii to Freya. “Yes, Mother; he says his name is Kurogane.”

 

Kurogane could see a large resemblance between the three of them. High cheekbones, pale skin, slender frame and blond hair. Her lips were a dark red, darker than either of the two younger ones with red splotches covering parts of her face. Kurogane wondered about that, as he had seen quite a few vampires in his time with fleshy pink lips to darker reds and even as far as black, but he hadn’t connected that to a particular cause.

 

She was shorter than Fai and seemed more somber than his cheeriness, even as she held her daughter, supporting her body with her arms. Kurogane stayed quiet as she looked him over.

 

“I can’t say I’m surprised to see you bring home someone like him. Make sure he doesn’t cause too much trouble,” she said firmly.

 

“Of course Mother,” Fai said as he moved and had his arms suddenly wrapped around Kurogane’s right arm. “Don’t worry; I’m going to take good care of him so he won’t be any trouble for you at all.”

 

She nodded before heading down the hall with Chii in tow. Chii peeked over her mother's shoulder at the two of them.

 

"That's Mother. Isn't she pretty?" Fai commented.

 

Kurogane didn't comment, instead looking around warily. Even though his brain wasn't hearing the warning bells of danger going off, they were still vampires. And just because this one seemed more inclined to treat him like some kind of  _ pet _ , didn't mean they all were that way. Or that he was entirely safe from him.

 

Fai gently tugged on Kurogane’s arm until he looked over some at him. “I know you dealt with a lot of rogues before, but you don’t have to be afraid of our kind here. The only rogue our clan has ever had is dead."

 

"That's…"  _ not very reassuring, hard to believe _ \- the way to end that sentence was numerous. He never had to finish the sentence as his tone imparted his feelings on the subject easily.

 

"I don't expect you to believe me so soon, but you'll see…" Fai smiled, "in the meantime, I'll show you around the place and get you some clean clothes."

 

"What for?" Kurogane asked skeptically.

 

"Because… this is your new home."

 

"... I don't want a new home. I want to go back to my life."

 

"I'm sure, but unfortunately, that's not entirely possible. Although if you want to kill more rogues, then you have to prove you can control yourself around non rogues. Otherwise, I won't be allowed to bring you along when I track them." Fai playfully poked him in the nose, "but that shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. After all, you were very good with Chii earlier."

 

Kurogane went a little cross eyed at the poking and swatted at the hand until Fai moved it away.

 

"Not like killing was the only thing I did," Kurogane huffed.

 

"Well obviously you also got food and rest at times but I don't know what else so you can tell me all about the other stuff after we get you changed~ " Fai smiled before gently tugging Kurogane into walking alongside him, "I'm not sure how long you were there, so fresh clothes are a good start. It always feels better to be clean. Ah, and I'm sure you will want some food and rest soon too. Sure, your legs got a break when I carried you here-"

 

"I'm fine," Kurogane murmured. He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Fai with those words.

 

"Great~ then let's get you some clothes. I think I have some your size available in my room."

 

"Why the hell would you have clothes anywhere near my size?" He asked. The vampire looked too scrawny to be wearing anything close to his size.

 

Fai laughed awkwardly, "well, call me sentimental if you want, but I have a hard time throwing stuff away."

 

"Sounds more like a hoarder. Thought you were a vampire, not a dragon."

 

Fai chuckled, bemused at that, "maybe on the outside I'm a vampire. But I haven't met a dragon, so I can't say for sure if I'm like one on the inside."

 

"Well if things like you and the faie exist, then other things we were told were just myths might be too."

 

"Well if dragons were real, would you like them?" Fai asked curiously.

 

"Dunno. At least none of  _ them _ murdered my family."

 

Fai felt the jab as though he himself was personally responsible for the deaths this man knew, and paused, "I..I know it's not much, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what happened to your family."

 

Kurogane stopped when Fai was no longer leading the way before he glanced a little at the vampire still clinging to him and the wounded expression. He let out a sigh before looking away. "Ain't like you killed them. I would know if you were responsible."

 

"Even so…" Fai said sadly, "I'm still sorry you lost your family because of rogues. Death always hurts but it's worse when there was no good reason."

 

Kurogane swallowed as he avoided eye contact, not sure what to do about the apology from Fai. He'd never gotten an apology or a sorry from a vampire for his loss. He wasn't about to say it was fine, because it wasn't fine. Neither of them deserved to die like that. He could still feel a lump in his throat when he eventually settled on quietly murmuring, "thanks ..I guess."

 

Fai smiled a little at that, "of course. And hey, if I can make your stay here more comfortable, let me know okay?"

 

Kurogane didn't respond to that, and Fai took the silence to continue to lead Kurogane, occasionally telling him what a room or hallway was for on the way.

 

Nearly to his room, Fai opened a door and let Kurogane peek inside. "This is my brother's room. As you can see, he doesn't keep much."

 

Kurogane softly grunted as he looked at the room. It had mild bioluminesce along the corners and along the roof. Plenty to see he kept his room elegant and simple. Fai closed the door and led Kurogane a little further before opening another door.

 

"And this is my room."

 

Kurogane squinted as he tried to get a good look but there was very little bioluminesce directly available. However it was clear that yes, it was a room, although 'organized chaos' fit the space better.

 

Inside Fai's room was a large bed covered with blankets, pillows and furs neatly arranged. There was a vanity desk across from the bed with vases of flowers and a hairbrush on it, with paintbrushes and scrolls taking up most of the rest of the space. There were pictures of varying quality stuck on the walls, crystals and kites dangling from the ceiling and small trinkets and pieces of jewelry strewn wherever seemed convenient, clay pots that held random objects the vampire owned, a spot on the wall the vampire had cleared for throwing blade practice and a star map directly overhead. He even had a tree growing in one of those clay pots with blossoming white petals the shape of dragonfly wings.

 

There was one other door in the room. Letting go of Kurogane's arm, Fai walked over to it and opened the door, leading to an enormous closet with softly glowing blue walls, filled with clothes, shoes as well as a couple piles of toys near the back where a full length mirror was fixed upon the wall. Only a few of the clothes and shoes were actually Fai's size.

 

Kurogane stood in the entryway, glancing around the room again. With the opening of the closet, the placement of the crystals didn’t look so random as they caught light from the bioluminesce and scattered the light about, brightening up the room.

 

"Come in, come in~" Fai encouraged as he looked through the clothes, looking for clothes close to Kurogane's size.

 

Kurogane reluctantly stepped inside and leaned against the wall by the door as it looked like the only exit to the room.

 

After a little searching, Fai pulled out a button up top and trousers from the closet. "Here we go. These should fit you~" Fai turned around and softly laughed, "how are you supposed to get dressed over there? There's not even enough room to move your arms."

 

"What? You want me to get changed in your room?"

 

"I certainly wouldn't mind," Fai hummed as he moved to sprawl out on his bed, dangling the clothes from the end of a finger and leaning his chin on his other hand. "Then again, I think you look rather pretty already so I wouldn't mind seeing how pretty you are underneath all your armour."

 

Fai wasn't sure how Kurogane would respond, but left nearly speechless and flustered was not the first thing he had imagined. The man really did make cute expressions.

 

When the blush had mostly faded, he shuffled closer. When he was close enough to grab the clothes, he paused midstep - no matter how nice Fai was being to him, it didn't erase that around a third of his life was spent knowing it was dangerous for him to be vulnerable in front of Fai's kind, that it could cost him his life.

 

"Just stay… stay over on that side of the room."

 

"Okay." Fai had no problem accommodating such a simple request if it helped make Kurogane feel a little more at ease around him. 

 

Once Kurogane took the clothes, he retreated a little and kneeled down so Fai was still in his peripheral view. He set the clothes close by and slowly began to remove his armour, occasionally checking that Fai had made no advances towards him. Instead, Fai leaned his chin against his hands and his elbows on the bed, watching interestedly.

 

Knots were undone, straps loosened before the armour could be removed, and each piece was set in front of him, still very much within reach, in case he would quickly want it back. Confirming Fai was still lazing on the bed, he removed his shirt.

 

Even from his position on the bed, as Kurogane lifted his shirt up and over his collar and head, what became visible was he was nearly as dark, just a couple shades lighter on his chest than his face from rarely exposing that skin to the light. There was body hair in the usual places and several scars that stood out against the surrounding skin. When Kurogane turned a little and grabbed the shirt he'd been given to put on, Fai could see the beginnings of a large scar going across his ribcage. It was a very unusual shape for a vampire-caused injury, and he was rather curious about the story behind it as well as the rest of his scars.

 

Kurogane hadn’t worn a button up shirt before and it took a moment to get it on, although he wore it more like a robe, tucking the buttons under the other side. Fai watched with amusement and decided he'd help him in a little bit.

 

Next, Kurogane grabbed the pants again and stood back up. Again, making sure Fai was not coming closer. Assured, he untied the sash that held his pants secure and let them fall at his feet. Stepping out of them, he then began to put the new pants on. Pulling them all the way up, he found it had a thicker button on one side, just like the shirt. He looked at it for a bit before looking over at Fai, "do these things have a purpose?"

 

"They do… would you like me to show you how to use them?"

 

"...kay." Kurogane moved back over towards Fai.

 

Fai smiled and moved a hand to gently pat a spot on his bed, "come on over to my side."

 

Kurogane half sat on the bed, one foot still on the floor as Fai moved to sit up and inch closer. He moved his arms slowly before separating the tucked ends.

 

Holding the end without buttons, he smiled at Kurogane, "there are two layers of cloth on the edge here. One is for against your skin and the other," he said slowly separating the fabric, "has thin holes designed to stick the buttons through." Slowly, he demonstrated by pulling the other side closer and sticking the flat end through the hole, pushing the rest through and straightening it out to lay flat. "Just like that, see?"

 

Fai moved his hands back to his lap and Kurogane worked on getting the other buttons to align just like the first one. After struggling a little, he got one to go through. Another three buttons later and he was feeling more confident at the task.

 

"You're a quick learner," Fai praised.

 

"This isn’t that hard once you know what yer doing,” Kurogane replied.

 

Fai watched him finish up before praising him again. "You did really good," Fai said and leaned in, kissing his cheek.

 

Kurogane flushed up and yelped in surprise as he jerked away from the bed, fumbled around for footing before crash landing on his rear.

 

Fai moved to lay down on the bed as he asked, "are you okay?"

 

"Fine," he spoke through a grimace.

 

"Well I know you're fine looking but are you okay?" Fai asked, staying on the bed. Even though he wanted to physically go check on Kurogane, Kurogane had earlier claimed that 'space' as his personal space, and he would respect that as long as Kurogane claimed that space as his barrier.

 

Kurogane moved to sit in a more dignified sitting position and was a little surprised that Fai, who had been so clingy earlier, wasn't now. Looking over, he noticed that he was clinging to the edge of the bed instead and staring at him, concerned and like he was waiting for something.

 

"What?" Kurogane asked. It seemed he had missed what Fai last said.

 

"I said, you're a cute pup," Fai said knowing very well that is not at all what he had said.

 

Kurogane sputtered at that, "Who are you calling cute?! I'm not cute or a pup, you leech."

 

Fai softly laughed, "seems you still have plenty of energy. But you are okay, right?"

 

"... yeah." A little sore from the fall, but nothing serious.

 

Fai let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad."

 

* * *

Kurogane curiously looked around the place, now that nearly everyone was asleep. He had never been inside a mansion - avoiding them the same as large towns - and he kept noise to a minimum as he wasn't keen on waking up the vampires or their servants.

 

It kept him occupied for a while as he wandered through corridors. There were plenty of doorways to rooms and other corridors but few windows, he realized after a while. The few windows made up for the lack by being exquisite with long seats. There were two panels, one at the top that was stained glass and the second was clear and could open up. While the sun was down, the main light came from bioluminesce, from similar plants to what he first saw where the auctioneer was. Gently poking one that had crawled halfway up the wall, the plant twitched at his touch and he moved his finger away from it.

 

"Isn't it a bit late to be up?"

 

Kurogane jumped a little, hearing someone else speak. Turning towards the voice, he looked similar to Fai, but some things weren't quite right. "Says the one who is up."

 

"You're his brother…?" He asked after a moment, still unsure. It was however the most logical explanation he could think of, given he knew the vampire had a brother and his father was dead.

 

Surprise registered first before there was a calmness. "You must be the Slayer my brother brought home recently."

 

"Not like I was given much choice in the matter."

 

"Do you have a name?" Yuui asked.

 

"Kurogane ...it's Kurogane. Anyway.. if it's so late, why are you up?"

 

"It took me longer than anticipated to return home," Yuui replied. He walked closer and Kurogane moved closer to the wall. "You should head to sleep, soon, Kurogane."

 

"I'll sleep when I sleep," Kurogane deflected.

 

Yuui didn't rise to comment, instead studying the man as he walked by him and headed to his own bedroom.

 

Kurogane waited a while, waited until he was sure Yuui was asleep, before he continued to explore. While the sun was out, he curiously headed out a window and leaned against the wall, soaking in the sunshine. He eventually fell asleep there.

 

* * *

 

"I saw your Slayer, Brother …"

 

"Isn't he cute?" Fai beamed at his brother.

 

"He was very much on edge when I saw him. Are you sure he will be fine here?"

 

"Kuro-pup still needs more time to adjust, but I'm sure he'll grow comfortable around us eventually."

 

"What makes you so sure?" 

 

"Well for one thing...I watched him… he has strong survival skills and lashed out in self preservation but he never tried to kill the faie. So if we aren't a threat to him, I'm sure he'll come around. I mean it only took a few hours after we arrived before he would relax long enough to let me put a claim on him."

 

Yuui softly sighed. "Didn't you tell me he saw you through the barrier?"

 

"Well yes, but not enough to really make out all of me apparently, otherwise I'm sure he would have recognized me at the Auction, but he definitely could see through Moko-chan's barrier. It's unusual - normally, the humans without a grain of ability to use magic aren't able to see, much less sense where a faie is, and he could do both even while the faie placed a barrier up. Doesn't it make you want to know more about him and why he's so special?"

 

"Not if I used my  _ head _ , brother. That's asking for trouble to find you."

 

"I'm not asking Kuro-pup to find me now. He needs his sleep."

 

"You know what I mean, Fai."


	4. Chapter 4

Fai stood nearby, squatting to look at Kurogane.

 

Kurogane was, for the most part, quite still and as Fai looked on, he watched the way Kurogane's breathing caused his chest to rise and fall, the way his fingers occasionally twitched, how his nostrils flared with each intake and exhale, and the way his eyes seemed to move behind closed lids.

 

His expression was rather neutral, no smile, no scowl.

 

Fai smiled as he watched Kurogane, eventually slowly standing upright and leaving to go take care of the animals, and getting a meal while he was at it.

 

When he returned to check on Kurogane, he was no longer sleeping against the wall.

 

"Now where could my sweet lil Kuro-pup be?" Fai hummed as he walked around the area. Looking around, he eventually heard some rustling and looked upwards. He watched as Kurogane climbed branches of a linden tree, going higher and higher.

 

"What are you doing~?" Fai called out in a chipper voice, using his hands like a megaphone.

 

Kurogane sent a scowl Fai's way. "What does it look like?"

 

"It looks like you forgot you can't fly by yourself."

 

Kurogane tched at him before grabbing the branch near his head and pulling himself upwards, swinging his leg over and laying down on it.

 

"Who needs to fly anyway?" He hollered down at him.

 

"Well, how do you plan to get down?"

 

"I'll get down when I feel like getting down."

 

"Right, right, well just don't forget to come down and eat, okay? I can make sure you know where the kitchens are~"

 

* * *

 

"Yuuui~" Fai wheedled, tossing himself on his brother's bed in a sprawled out fashion. "What am I doing wrong?"

 

"What is it?" He spoke calmly as he changed into his sleeping clothes.

 

"My cutie Kuro-pup … isn't he really hungry- I haven't seen him eat since he's arrived and he even slept outside when I had gave him a nice room he could use.  What am I gonna do? Yuui,  _ heeelllp~ _ !"

 

"You do recall he came from a place of needing to survive?"

 

"Well, yeah…" Fai moved to lean on his elbows and look over at his brother.

 

"Things like that don't heal overday," Yuui spoke calmly, "Sometimes they do not heal. It is how humans are."

 

"Yes but..." Fai said earnestly, "there must be something I can do. I want Kuro-pup to be happy here."

 

"He's used to looking after himself, right? Why not give him some space."

 

"I  _ triiiiied _ that, already, Brother" Fai replied, "but you would think  _ he _ was one of our story vampires the way he looked inside and wouldn't step past the doorway."

 

That wasn't really what Yuui meant, but he didn't correct Fai. "What about food? What have you tried to feed him?"

 

"Mm, well, we hadn't quite gotten that far. After he got out of the tree, I was showing him to the kitchens," Fai murmured pressing an index finger against his chin, "but when we got there, Toya told us to get out and he scampered off before I could ask him what he wanted to eat. So I never got a chance to see what he likes. Do you think if I leave him some bread, he would eat it? Maybe some fruit?"

 

"Just make sure it's fine with Toya; he's in charge of the kitchens."

 

"Okkaaay~"

 

* * *

 

Fai carried the plate with him, wandering around, looking for Kurogane. He smiled as he crossed paths with Sakura, "ah Sakura~ how are you doing?"

 

"I'm doing well, Fai," Sakura smiled before looking a little concerned, "isn't it a little late for you?"

 

"Mm-mm, a bit. But I wanted to be sure Kuro-pup got food."

 

"How sweet of you," Sakura smiled brightly. "Is that the man with the spiky collar around his neck?"

 

"It is~ have you seen him around?" He asked hopefully.

 

She nodded, "Yes. I saw him about twenty minutes ago; he was outside, near one of the windows."

 

"Ah, thank you~" Fai said gleefully. "Hopefully, he's still there~"

 

Carefully carrying the plate, he headed over toward one of the windows in particular, the one near where he had seen Kurogane asleep earlier. He didn't see him immediately, but the window was open. Setting the plate in the seat by the window, he looked around and found him a ways away, doing stretches and exercises while in his armour.

 

"Yoohoo~ Kuro-pup~" Fai said cheerfully, waving an arm out the window.

 

Kurogane paused his activities to regard Fai with a scowl. "I aint a pup, you mosquito…!"

 

Fai didn't stop smiling at him, "I brought over some food for you. Since I don't know how much or what you normally eat, I hope it's okay~"

 

When he saw Kurogane continue to stand there, neither fleeing nor approaching, he continued, "I'll leave the food here for you, okay? So come eat whenever you want...I'll be heading to bed now so sweet dreams and I'll see you again after dusk~"

 

Fai retreated back inside and headed down the hallway, turning the corner. He really was planning on just heading on to his bedroom to sleep, but a tiny creak caught his attention and he paused.

 

Curiously, he waited a moment before walking back a little to peek on the hallway he had just been .

 

Kurogane had stretched a little more before partially climbing through the open window and peeking to make sure the coast was clear. He then finished climbing inside and shut the window behind himself. Grabbing the plate, he sat down by the window as curiosity got to him, wondering what the vampire thought to feed him.

 

When Fai peeked in the hallway, he saw bare toes and hints of a pants leg dangling over the edge of the window seat. Smiling to himself, he continued to head to his room and let Kurogane eat in peace.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Kurogane sat quietly in the window seat, soaking in the warm rays of the fading sunlight and lightly dozing. Dusk approached, and with it, the vampires began to awaken.

 

It was quiet at first with the soft sounds of mountain birds and chipmunks getting ready for the night before he heard shuffling and it brought him back to his senses. He watched momentarily as someone came down the hall, and saw a young man - he estimated he was a few years younger than himself - walking with a book in his hands and mumbling words.

 

He walked on by, his eyes fixated on the words he was reading. Seeing as he looked more like a threat to himself by running into doorways or tripping, Kurogane left him alone. It grew quiet again before he saw one of the vampires heading outside. From the distance, it was hard to see which one but, if he had to guess, it was the brother with the elegant room. He realized he was right when the cheerful voice of Fai echoed down the hallway.

 

He mentally debated getting up, although when he began to move, he discovered it was harder than usual. Nearly his entire body felt stiff and laggard. In the back of his mind, he recalled Fai had warned this could be one of a few temporary side effects of being claimed.

 

With a mild groan, he settled back and silently cursed at his situation. Sure, he could still move - it just took a lot more effort and he wasn't sure it was worth tiring his body out if he didn't have to. It was simply better to wait it out, but just because he was sure that it had more to do with the claim and not from his other recent activities or even eating the food he was given, it didn't mean he had to like it as it left an unpleasant feeling.

 

Fai didn't act like he noticed as he walked on over, with a wave of his hand. “Evening, Kuro-pup.”

 

Kurogane mildly complained, “It’s Kurogane.”

 

"But Kuro-pup is so cute~ And besides, you put yourself in a collar and everything~"

 

Kurogane tched and scowled at that, "so what do you want?"

 

"I wanted to know how you are. Did you sleep well? Did you like your food? Are you hungry?"

 

Kurogane took a moment to react as the care Fai showed was still foreign to him and still managed to surprise him some. "Fine...I'm fine.. you can go do whatever it is you normally do."

 

"Ah well that’s the thing,” Fai smiled pleasantly, “I don’t have too many duties, so usually after I’m awake I like to check on how our people and animals are doing. That means, you too, especially since you’re so cute.”

 

He had half expected Fai’s sentence with end with something about duty or responsibility. He hadn’t expected to hear Fai call him cute. “Whaa-!? I am not cute!” he blustered.

 

"Ahahaha. I guess you've had no mirror to see yourself, but you really are very cute~"

 

"Sh-shut up!" He barked his face turning several shades of embarrassed, "Why don't you go check on someone else then, like that kid with a book for a face?"

 

Fai put a finger to his lower lip in consideration of who Kurogane could be talking about, before smiling brightly, "Ah, you must mean Syaoran. He's a good lad. Mostly, he acts as our librarian. Only trouble with him is, Syaoran's not very good at remembering to eat or sleep when he gets engrossed in what he's doing. Someone usually has to check on him, otherwise he'll fall into a reading coma."

 

Kurogane took in the new information although made a confused expression at the last bit, "the hell is a reading coma?"

 

"Oh well, if he goes on too long without eating or sleeping, he exhausts himself and falls asleep for a couple days. Sometimes three. So we call them reading comas."

 

"All the more reason you should concern yourself with him instead."

 

"Awh, you're so kind~" Fai cooed. "Very well then, I shall check on Syaoran. Will you be here later?"

 

"I…!" he began to protest before huffing. It wasn't like he could move fast for a while anyway, and he was hoping he didn't have to reveal that. "yeah.. so go already, before that kid runs into a wall or something."

 

Fai smiled at that, "alright, Kuro-pup see you later then." He headed down the hall and Kurogane listened to the footsteps rather than strain his neck watching him.

 

He sighed; he was sure it was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

****"What. Are. You. Doing?!" Kurogane yelped as Fai scooped him up.

 

"Don't you want to be a good role model for Syaoran?" 

 

"Wha-? That has nothing to do with this! Why are you grabbing me?!"

 

"But isn't it better to sleep in a bed? Maybe you are used to outdoors as your bed, but a real one feels a lot better. Don't you think so too?"

 

"How would I know?! Put me down, you, you-!" He barked, flustered.

 

"But you've been sitting all day. So I thought you were having trouble moving."

 

"I'll be fine... Just! Set me down already!"

 

"Okay."

 

Fai slowly set Kurogane down on his feet and it took a moment to gather himself as his legs were not only stiff but now they were sending the chaotic signals associated when a limb was 'waking up'.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"Told you, I'm fine."

 

When the chaos signals faded, Kurogane quietly shuffled along the hallway and Fai walked beside him. 

 

"Do you not like your room?" Fai asked.

 

"It ain't my room."

 

"... would you like me to find you a different room?"

 

Kurogane didn't respond to that.

 

"So what is it you don't like about the room?" Fai asked turning to face Kurogane.

 

He faltered backwards a step at that. "...that's none of your business."

 

"Why would it not be? How can I find you a comfortable bedroom if you don't say what you don't like about it?"

 

"Even if I say, there aren't any bedrooms here that would be comfortable."

 

Fai looked brokenhearted to hear that, and even if he had meant it, because they still felt too much like being trapped, now Kurogane felt bad for saying so.

 

Kurogane tched, before gruffly adding, "doesn't matter.. I'm going, ain't I? If only so that book face kid doesn't have an excuse to ignore his sleep."

 

Fai brightened up hearing that, "ah, you really are very thoughtful. As thanks, I'll be sure to find some way to make it better."

 

Kurogane tched at that and looked away as though it would hide the rising blush.

 

Fai smiled at that and walked with Kurogane to the bedroom. It was quiet as folks were preparing for bed.

 

As they got to the room and he looked inside, Kurogane hesitated to step through the doorway, before swallowing as old memories replayed in his mind and he could hear the splintering of wood as the place he should have been safe, the place his mother should have been safe, was destroyed. He closed his eyes and looked again and it was the same room the vampire had offered him to use, with the ceiling in one piece. It had a bed, a dresser and a small bedside table. The walls had the softly glowing plant that crawled about like ivy. There was nothing albeit the plants alive in the room. 

 

Fai stood nearby, silently watching Kurogane.

 

Kurogane quietly spoke, "I...I'll be fine." 

 

He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or assure Fai with that, but with a deep breath, he stepped inside.

 

"Well, good morning, Kuro-pup; I hope you have sweet dreams."

 

Kurogane turned towards Fai, who was standing in clear sight of the doorway but staying out of the room. "Do you always sleep during the day?"

 

"Mm well, more often than not. If we spent a lot of time in the sun, we'd need more blood than usual to recover. So it's simply kinder not to over burden our willing food sources by spending a bunch of time in the sun. Don't people say happy food, happy home?"

 

".. not quite." He was familiar with the expression happy wife, happy life and good food goes best with good company. But Fai's seemed a mix of those two. "Well anyway,... g'mornin… I guess."

 

Fai was delighted to hear it, "hyuu thanks! I'll see you in the evening, Kuro-pup~"

 

"It's Kurogane," he groused even as Fai cheerfully skipped away.

 

He turned back towards the bed and crossed over towards it, slowly checking it as though it might be hiding something before climbing under the sheet.

 

Still clad in his armour, he hoped that he could at least get a little sleep there.

 

* * *

 

Kurogane woke with a start. Looking around, he realized he was in the bedroom the vampire had given him. An analysis told him it was just him and the plants and the roof was still in one piece. He sighed as he leaned back against the headboard, quietly reflecting on the dream he'd had.

 

"... at least that means you should still be safe and free," he murmured, thinking about Tomoyo.

 

Kurogane waited a few moments before moving around. It was easier than yesterday and he was sure by the next day, he would be back to normal. Well, as normal as he could be, under his new circumstances.

 

Kurogane walked out of the room and paused hearing more footsteps although they made more of a hop sound than plain walking and before long, it's in the same hallway. He's not sure what it is but it's alive and bouncy.

 

"Aww~ you're already awake. Mokona was getting ready to wake you up." The creature - Mokona - looked like someone mixed a dumpling and a bunny and gave the concoction speech and a hoop earring.

 

"What for?" Kurogane rebuffed.

 

"Mother asked me to make sure you were waking up and getting dinner. Kuro-puu can't stay big and strong if he doesn't eat his meals~"

 

"It's Kurogane," he replied. "Anyway, what even are you?" Some kind of faie maybe?

 

"How rude. Mokona is Mokona," Mokona said waving a paw at him.

 

"...right. So where's dinner?"

 

"Mokona will show you," Mokona replied before hopping up and sat on his head. "Let's go~"

 

"You're not doing a very good job," Kurogane chided.

 

Mokona patted his head with a paw, "Because Mokona is doing an excellent job. Now head down this hallway, Kurogane." 

 

Just to be ornery, he turned the wrong way and Mokona patted his head more, "the other way, Kurogane, the other way."

 

"Shoulda said so then," Kurogane replied, even as he followed the instructions from Mokona and turned back around and began heading towards dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

The fog crept around the valley and Fai watched from the hilltop as Kurogane ran about, more or less in a straight path. Fai knew exactly what he was doing - testing just how far he could go.  _ Just like a puppy _ , Fai mused, as he let him run, waiting until he tired out or began to come back to move from his spot. Which was fine with him; he didn’t mind lazing about and watching Kurogane. Even with the fog around, he could easily follow Kurogane’s trail visually as Kurogane made no effort of trying to hide his trail from him.

 

Kurogane was sure if he tried to hide, Fai would come over sooner, in order to check on him, so he ran as long as his legs and lungs could go without real rest, catching himself when he slipped in a puddle.

 

Kurogane panted when he finally slowed down, his lungs burning. He eventually sat down on the ground and laid on his back, resting his body as he looked up towards the sky. He could hear his own blood and pulse racing as they tried to keep up and also slow back down.

 

As soon as his pulse didn't sound so thundering, the area sounded peaceful with the fog slowly clearing and the grasses waving slowly in the breeze.

 

Fai waited for several minutes after Kurogane laid down before moving from his spot and walking over, figuring that would give him plenty of heads up.

 

By the time he walked over, the first rays of light were beginning to show themselves. Looking down at Kurogane, he almost didn't want to disturb him as it looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

 

He squatted near him, and silently admired his face, before gently poking his cheek. "Time to head back, Kuro cutie."

 

Kurogane woke with a start and began to bolt up - right until he collided with Fai's head, leaving them both groaning and holding their heads.

 

Kurogane was still wincing in pain as he moved his hand away to sit up and look around and found Fai holding his forehead with his hands.

 

"Are…?"

 

"You… you have a really strong head Kuro…" Fai said in a pained whine.

 

"Spose…" he murmured, rubbing his forehead some more.

 

"I guess this is why they say let sleeping dogs sleep.."

 

"Ain't a dog," Kurogane huffed.

 

Fai moved his hands away from his head and smiled faintly, "well, are you ready to head back to the house now?"

 

"Mm? That late already?"

 

"Well the sun is coming out so yeah, it's a bit late …"

 

"I see," he said, glancing at the lightening sky before standing back up, "spose so."

 

"Shall I carry you back?" Fai asked as he stood back up himself.

 

"I…" he began to say he could walk just fine, before remembering what the vampire said about the sunlight, "Fine..! But I'm only allowing it this time because yer up past your bedtime."

 

"Hwuu so considerate," Fai smiled as he scooped Kurogane up into his arms. "Well now, let's get back."

 

Kurogane wasn't used to being carried and lightly fidgeted in his hold on him.

 

"Now hold on~"

 

"To what!?" Kurogane asked, even as he let out a small gasp when they were quickly airborne.

 

It was a short time getting back compared to how long it took to run the distance and once they were back inside, Fai set Kurogane down.

 

"Alright Kuro, see you tonight. Don't forget to sleep well~"

 

"Go to bed already," Kurogane said making light shooing motions at Fai.

 

"Right, right… then, good morning," Fai said walking down towards his bedroom.

 

Kurogane watched him head off and waited a while before wandering around some, seeing if that kid was still up. It didn't take too long of wandering to find him in the library.

 

"Hey…" 

 

The youth looked up from the book he was reading. "How may I help you?"

 

"Fai asked me to see if you wouldn't mind finishing your book in your room. Something about relaxing in bed with a book during the sunlight is good for growing boys, or something like that." He absolutely hadn't asked him if he would do that, but considering what he had already said, if it worked out, he'd probably not mind he used his name.

 

"Oh, sure," Syaoran agreed and picked up his book. "Well, then… good morning."

 

"Morning to you too."

 

Kurogane walked out of the library and watched for a bit as the youth headed off, hopefully to his room, before finally heading to his own. He stopped just outside again. He looked inside tentatively before taking a few deep breaths and heading inside.

 

He checked the bed and found it the same as he had left it. Straightening out the blanket some, he climbed under and settled in for the day.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Kuro pup …Kuro kinder… Kuro cutie claws...Kuro sleepy bed head…" Fai kept coming up with word combinations to attach to Kuro, "Kuro breadbox… Kuro grassy bath…"

 

"What do you want?" He grumbled.

 

And there. He knew for sure Kurogane had woken up.

 

Fai beamed from the doorway of Kurogane's room, "good evening~ I must say, whatever you did last morning was quite effective~"

 

"Huh?" He asked, blinking tiredly. He managed to focus enough to notice it was Fai, standing at the doorway. Not in the room, but teetering outside, like he was cautious not to enter without some kind of permission yet verbally didn't mind trying to stir him. "What are you talking about?"

 

"Well now, how can I reward you for doing such a good job?"

 

"You could start by speaking clearly what the heck you're going on about," he replied.

 

Fai grinned even bigger, "I'm talking about how you got our sweet Syaoran to head to bed. He looked so comfy sleeping with his book tucked next to his head."

 

"Wasn't me…" Kurogane refused to take credit for it.

 

"Well who else could have convinced him?"

 

"You."

 

"But I didn't speak with him so how could I?" Fai questioned, rocking on his heels.

 

"Suggesting you thought relaxing in bed with a book was good for him helped, but he ultimately did so on his own. Ain't me that got him to do it."

 

"Still, you're the one who spoke with him, so that means you helped, you sweet thoughtful pup~"

 

Kurogane flustered at the (mostly) praise, and blustered out, "it's too early to be spouting such nonsense!"

 

Fai chuckled amused by that, "well don't forget to have dinner okay? I'm going to go check on the others~ See you sooon~"

 

Kurogane waited until he had skipped off before making his way out of bed. Knowing the way to where dinner would be served, he detoured to the window, where the last rays of dusk were fading. He sat there, watching the sky fade to black and stars before getting up and heading to where dinner was served.

 

* * *

 

Kurogane sat in the window seat, letting the cool early morning air inside. Hearing small shuffling, he looked down the hallway and saw the young vampire crawling about on her own. She sat up and looked around before going back to crawling on the floor.

 

She sat next to him, and reached her arms up towards his pants, clutching tiny fistfuls as she looked up at him. "Chii."

 

Unfolding himself, he got out of the window and reached down to pick her up. As he scooped her up, she let go of his pants.

 

"Now what are you up to?" He asked.

 

Chii wiggled her small hands at him, opening and closing her fists, "Chii."

 

"Is that so?" He replied, even as he sat back down by the window with her.

 

"Chii."

 

He wondered why it felt like he knew exactly what she meant, but didn't pay too much mind as he kept an occasional eye on the child between looking out at the scenery.

 

When she tried crawling over his leg and towards the window, he scooped her up and sat her down on his leg, supporting her weight.

 

"You wanted to see too huh?"

 

"Chii." She clutched at him as he supported her sitting up.

 

Like this, it was easy for him to forget she wasn't just a tiny child. It wasn't until he heard another voice in the room, he looked away from the view and Chi. He recognized it as belonging to her older brother, Yuui.

 

"There you are, Chii."

 

"Chii."

 

Kurogane lifted her back up, her legs dangling down, and turned her around so she could see her brother. With a smile, she wiggled her hands at him.

 

"Chii~" she said happily.

 

Yuui gently took her from Kurogane and cradled her in his arms.

 

"It's good to see you are doing well."

 

"Chii," she burbled.

 

"I see," Yuui hummed, "well I'm glad you two were having fun together."

 

Kurogane looked at the two before back out the window.

 

Yuui looked at Kurogane again. "Will you be heading to bed soon?"

 

"...in a bit." He planned to soak in some of the warm sunlight before begrudgingly heading to his room.

 

Yuui made a thoughtful noise before carrying Chii away. Chii leaned into Yuui's chest, making a soft giggle before cooing her own name again.

 

Kurogane looked over at their retreating figures before back at the landscape outside the window. Silently, Kurogane moved out to enjoy the sunrise and as the sun got bright, he headed back inside and closed the window behind him.

 

With a soft sigh, he headed to his room.


	8. Chapter 8

"Yuui, oh dearest darlingest brother of mine~"

 

"What seems to be the matter, now, Fai?" Yuui asked, undisturbed.

 

"My cute puppy keeps wearing his armour everywhere. I'm not even sure he's had a bath since … well, since he got picked up," Fai said before flopping on top of Yuui's bed, "Yuui~ what should I do? He looks  _ sooo _ uncomfortable."

 

"It's barely been a week, Fai. I'm not surprised he still wears his armour. He still looks like he expects to be attacked should he let down his guard."

 

"So then - what can I do, Yuui?" Fai wheedled, "I really want him to be able to be happy here."

 

"Why not ask him directly?"

 

"I'm pretty sure I did when I brought him home, but he hasn't answered me. And he still looks like a punished pup every time it's bedtime."

 

"Well, calling him a pup to his face doesn't seem your most  _ effective _ method of getting answers from him," Yuui calmly replied.

 

"I can't help it. He has such a cute scowly face and he even gave himself a collar. I have thought to call him normally but whenever I see his face, he looks just as cute as a puppy and all thoughts like that disappear."

 

Yuui shook his head with a fondness. "This is why he's always barking at you."

 

Fai rolled about until he was leaning on his elbows, "then … tomorrow I will find a way not to call him a cute puppy and see how it goes~"

 

"Let me know if you have any luck or if he thinks you got replaced by a fae."

 

Fai laughed at that. "Now there's a thought."

 

Yuui looked a little concerned. "I know you have a good relationship with Mokona, but please... don't  _ actually _ get replaced by a fae."

 

With a bright grin, "awh, I love you too, Yuui. My  _ favoritest _ brother."

 

"I'm your  _ only _ brother," Yuui replied, rolling his eyes lightly.

 

"All the more reason you're my favoritest brother," Fai returned with a bright smile. "Don't worry… I promise I won't really get replaced by a fae."

 

* * *

 

Kurogane woke with a start, his pulse racing hard. He stared at the softly glowing plants as he tried to calm back down. The echoes of the dream still haunted him and pushing his blanket away, he climbed out of bed. He quietly walked around until he found the same window he preferred to use. Nudging it open, he slipped outside into the warm sunlight.

 

Kurogane paced about, his fingers flexing in an almost rhythmic crackle of joints as he worked on soothing the tension and adrenaline still wound up tight in his chest.

 

Fai woke up and rolled around in bed. "Mmn?" Rubbing at his eyes, he wondered what it was that woke him up. There was nothing out of place in his room. Still, he figured there must be something and with the grace of a young child on a midnight stumble to the bathroom, he walked out of his room, the end of a blanket dragging behind him.

 

Fai checked on his brother first and seeing he was sleeping soundly, he walked on by before he became more alert at the scent of spilled blood. Thanks to the claim, he knew exactly whose blood. He moved quicker and found Kurogane's empty bed.

 

Wordlessly, he wrapped his blanket closer and went to check on the window he knew Kurogane frequently used, finding it sure enough opened. The sun was out and he could already feel the small tingles against his cheek.

 

Even so, he headed outside to find Kurogane.

 

It didn't take long to find Kurogane, the scent a potent calling card to his location. Kurogane was plopped down in front of a freshly broken boulder, his hand resting limply in his lap.

 

"Kuro…." Fai began to call softly. 

 

Kurogane turned towards the voice before climbing to his feet, turning his back towards the splintered stone.

 

"Are you okay?" Fai asked softly.

 

"What are you still doing up?" Kurogane deflected.

 

"I woke up…I could tell you were bleeding."

 

"I was?" He sounded surprised by that and looked down at his hand and saw the dried drops of blood near his knuckles. "ah.. spose I was."

 

Fai stepped closer to Kurogane and he backed up right into the boulder.

 

"I'll get you something to make your hand feel better so come back inside with me." Fai moved a hand out from under his covers to show an open palm.

 

Kurogane didn't move away from the boulder immediately, before moving forward and pushing Fai's hand away. "Idiot… don't be wasting your food by trying to get a sunburn."

 

"Then don't get hurt outside when it's all sunshiny. Why were you outside anyway?"

 

Kurogane tsked, before lowly grumbling, "needed some fresh air." Stepping around Fai, he tromped towards the window.

 

Fai let him get a few steps ahead before following after him. 

 

Kurogane had made it inside and safely onto the hallway floor before Fai followed him inside, shutting the window behind himself.

 

Quickly moving over to Kurogane, he wrapped his arms around Kurogane's and knew he was in pain. He saw the flash of a pain filled grimace and felt the tensing up of muscles before Kurogane could force his honest reactions into hiding.

 

"Now then … let's have you take a nice hot bath. I'm sure you'll feel a lot better afterwards."

 

Kurogane didn't reply so his voice couldn't betray him too, but when Fai softly led the way, he followed along.

 

He only once verbally complained - when Fai told him he was grounded and had to stay indoors for the next week.

 


	9. Chapter 9

"Yuui, oh dearest darlingest brother of mine~"

 

"What seems to be the matter, now, Fai?" Yuui asked, undisturbed as he changed into his bedtime clothes.

 

"My cute puppy keeps wearing his armour everywhere, even to bed. I'm not even sure he's had a bath since … well, since he got picked up," Fai said before flopping on top of Yuui's bed, "Yuui~ what should I do? It looks too snug and makes him look  _ soo _ uncomfortable."

 

"It's barely been a week, Fai. I'm not surprised he still wears his armour. Beyond his own strength and wits, it's all he has left to protect himself with and he's still used to needing that protection."

 

"So then - what can I do, Yuui?" Fai wheedled, "I really want him to be able to be happy here."

 

"Why not ask him directly?"

 

"I'm pretty sure I did when I brought him home, but he hasn't answered me. And he still looks like a punished pup every time it's bedtime."

 

"Well, calling him a pup to his face doesn't seem your most  _ effective _ method of getting answers from him," Yuui calmly replied.

 

"I can't help it. He has such a cute scowly face and he even gave himself a collar. I have thought to call him normally but whenever I think of his face, it's just as cute as a puppy, and I find myself calling him all sorts of fun names."

 

Yuui shook his head with fondness. "This is why he's always barking at you. 

 

Fai rolled about until he was leaning on his elbows, and looking over at Yuui who was finishing up and coming to sit on the edge of his bed. "Okay then … tomorrow I will find a way not to call him a cute puppy to his face and see how it goes~ Maybe just Kuro? Yeah…I'll try and just call him Kuro and see if I get any answers from my cutie."

 

"Let me know if you have any luck or if he thinks you got replaced by a faie."

 

Fai laughed at that. "Now there's a thought."

 

Yuui looked a little concerned. "I know you have a good relationship with Mokona, but please... don't  _ actually _ get replaced by a faie."

 

With a bright grin, Fai moved to wrap his arms around Yuui's shoulders in an affectionate hug, "awh, I love you too, Yuui. My  _ favoritest _ brother."

 

"I'm your  _ only _ brother," Yuui replied, rolling his eyes lightly, even as he moved an arm to gently pat Fai on the back.

 

"All the more reason you're my favoritest brother," Fai returned with a bright smile. "Don't worry… I promise I won't really get replaced by a faie."

 

* * *

 

Kurogane woke with a start, jolting with a gasp for air and his pulse racing hard. He stared at the softly glowing plants that clung to the wall as he tried to calm back down. The echoes of the dream were still vivid and fresh in his mind, haunted him with how real it felt.

 

Pushing his blanket away, he climbed out of bed. He quietly paced around the hallways until he found the same window he preferred to use for soaking in the sun or heading outside. Nudging it open, he slipped outside into the warm sunlight.

 

Kurogane paced about, his fingers flexing in an almost rhythmic crackle of joints as he worked on soothing the tension and adrenaline still wound up tight in his chest. He paced in an elliptical around the mansion. Near the farthest edge he went, there was a burbling creek, an old tree standing askew by the water's side. Rather than harm the tree, he found a large rock jutting out of the earth to take his tensions out upon. As the beginning of tears burned at his eyes, he slammed a fist into the boulder.

 

Fai woke up and rolled around in bed. "Mmn?" Rubbing at his eyes, he wondered what it was that woke him up. Looking around, there was nothing out of place in his room. Still, he figured there must be something and with the grace of a young child on a midnight stumble to the bathroom, he walked out of his room, the end of a blanket dragging behind him.

 

Fai checked on his brother first and seeing he was sleeping soundly, he walked on by, deciding to check on his little sister next before he became alert to the scent of spilled blood. Thanks to the claim, he knew exactly whose blood. He moved quicker and found Kurogane's empty bed.

 

Wordlessly, he wrapped his blanket closer and went to check on the window he knew Kurogane frequently used, finding it sure enough opened. The sun was out and he could already feel the small tingles against his cheek.

 

Even so, he headed outside to find Kurogane.

 

It didn't take long to find Kurogane, following his scent. Kurogane was plopped down in front of a freshly broken boulder, one hand resting limply in his lap.

 

"Kuro…." Fai began to call softly. 

 

Kurogane turned towards Fai, startled to hear another voice, before climbing to his feet, turning his back towards the splintered stone. His face looked puffy and red, like he had been crying recently.

 

"Are you okay?" Fai asked softly.

 

"What are you still doing up?" Kurogane deflected.

 

"I woke up…I could tell you were bleeding."

 

"I was?" He sounded surprised by that and looked down at his hand and saw the dried drops of blood near his knuckles. "ah.. spose I was."

 

Fai stepped closer to Kurogane and he backed up right into the boulder.

 

"I'll get you something to make your hand feel better so come back inside with me." Fai moved a hand out from under his covers to show an open palm.

 

Kurogane didn't move away from the boulder immediately, before moving forward and pushing Fai's hand away. "Idiot… don't be wasting your food by trying to get a sunburn."

 

"Then don't get hurt outside when it's all sunshiny. Why were you out here anyway?"

 

Kurogane tsked, before lowly grumbling, "needed some fresh air." Stepping around Fai, he tromped  back towards the vampire's house and towards the open window.

 

Fai let him get a few steps ahead before following after him. 

 

Kurogane made it inside and safely onto the hallway floor before Fai followed him inside, shutting the window behind himself.

 

Quickly moving over to Kurogane, he wrapped his arms around Kurogane's and immediately knew he was in pain. Even if he hadn't clearly heard the noise Kurogane made, he saw the flash of a pain filled grimace and felt the tensing up of muscles before Kurogane could force his honest reactions into hiding.

 

"Now then … let's have you take a nice hot bath. I'm sure you'll feel better afterwards."

 

Kurogane grit his teeth and didn't reply so his voice couldn't betray him again, but when Fai slowly led the way, he followed along.


	10. Chapter 10

Kurogane rested beside his bed as his sore arm lay at his side.There were clear signs of bruising and swelling and he was reluctant to reveal that to anyone who didn't already know. Namely, him and Fai, who he found out he really couldn't hide it from for long, thanks to the claim and Fai's personality.

 

Fai knocked on his doorway. He waited until Kurogane looked his way before carrying a plate of food inside with him.

 

"Hey cutie, I brought you food. You haven't left your room since your bath so I thought you'd be hungry."

 

Kurogane watched tentatively as Fai brought the food over and set it down beside him.

 

“Alright, that’s all I came for… I hope you feel better soon, Kuro.”

 

Fai began to head out when he heard a small noise from Kurogane, “Yes?”

 

“...have … have we met?" Kurogane asked, "Before that auction … did we ever meet?"

 

Fai forced a bright smile to his face before turning around to face Kurogane, "If we had, you probably would have killed me."

 

Kurogane tched before grabbing the chunk of bread off the plate with his good hand. "You say it like I'm as heartless as your rogues. I only killed those who made a move to attack first."

 

Fai could feel fondness creeping through at the declaration, reminded of how he swatted at the faie but never tried to kill them; as he thought, Kurogane really was an admirable human. Rather than say it, he decided to tease him. "So what did that rock do to you that you killed it?"

 

Kurogane's face scrunched and he looked at him with a confused expression, "You can't kill a rock. They aren't even alive."

 

Fai softly laughed as he squatted some, "my brother might disagree with you there."

 

"And what about you?" Kurogane responded, trying to gauge if Fai was being serious with him.

 

"Just because I don't understand how, doesn't mean he's wrong when he says they speak to him."

 

Kurogane was quiet at that as he ate the bread. "Well … far as I know, a rock still ain't a vampire." 

 

"That's true. But that doesn't explain why you broke the rock and got yourself hurt."

 

Kurogane's brow furrowed before he sighed. "Wasn't like I hurt myself on purpose."

 

"I didn't think you were the type to go around purposefully hurting yourself. Not that you don't end up getting hurt sometimes, like those burn marks from your collar."

 

Kurogane was quiet, his gaze shifting away. "That…" he paused, "was my little sister's idea. She helped me make it."

 

"I didn't know you had a sister," Fai commented. In the week he'd had the Slayer, Kurogane hardly was willing to talk about himself, so he'd eat up any details he offered - especially ones he gave out voluntarily.

 

"Not by blood, but she's my little sister anyway," Kurogane stated, "After Mother died, we looked after one another."

 

"What happened to her?" Fai asked.

 

"Dunno for sure. After the faie did  … well, whatever it was they did, I haven't seen her. Juss know they didn't get her too. There was a bunch of faie at the auction place, and they confirmed it. No other human got caught where I was."

 

"Was she a Slayer too?"

 

"Not at all," Kurogane shook his head and looked back over towards Fai, "She coulda been a hell lot better than I ever was, but she never took a life if we had no intention of eating it. I can’t build a barrier like her, so if it hadn't been for her, a lot more of your kind would be dead, and likely so would I."

 

"That's not a very nice thing to say about yourself," Fai softly chided.

 

"It's the truth, so I don't see why I shouldn't say it. Father died fighting, and Mother was murdered in her own room. There was no one else left in my village beside me until she showed up. Having my little sister about meant I wasn't reckless all the time and always risking my neck."

 

"Literally too." Fai mentally wondered if his parents' death was where most of the discomfort and uneasiness Kurogane had about sleeping in a bedroom and another reason he rarely removed his armour.

 

Kurogane tched at that, scowling lightly as he responded, "If you start those dog jokes in  _ my _ room, I'm kicking you out."

 

Fai grinned a little, "I'm glad you are starting to feel it's  _ your _ room."

 

Kurogane looked startled by that, and his cheeks and ears grew pink. "I..! That's not… I mean..! Sh-shut up!"

 

Fai let out an amused giggle at that.

 

"Well then…" Fai stood back up and dusted at his clothes, as though it was for more than drawing Kurogane's attention to himself. "You still haven't said how I can help improve your room. Maybe some different plants? Of course you'd have to be responsible for looking after them."

 

"And have your brother call me a plant killer too? Better just stick with the glowy ones fer now - pretty sure they'll be juss fine even if I never look after em."

 

Fai let out a tiny chuckle, “Well perhaps I can still get you something. Is there anything … anything in particular you’d like?”

 

Kurogane was quiet at that, like he was considering something before shaking his head a little.  "Not sure."

 

"Well you think about it and … if you don't come out for the next meal, I'll bring you food again. Alright, Kuro?"

 

"Mn," Kurogane grunted in acknowledgement.

 

* * *

 

"What do you mean he punched and broke it?" Yuui asked with an exasperated look.

 

"Well how else would he have? The stone broke and his arm is hurt, and he didn't have any tools with him. I have to think that's just how he broke it," Fai said squatting on his bedroom floor.

 

"Maybe soft stone makes sense, but that was a boulder - a hard stone - and he's a human. They aren't meant to have that kind of power behind their swings."

 

"Well, goes to show just how special my puppy is… he can even surprise my precious brother."

 

"You're lucky he hasn't tried to use that strength on you, Brother."

 

"But that's not really his style. He said so himself so sincerely, so as long as we pose no threat to his life, he won't have any reason to make us look like the rock."

 

"Even so, do I need to have a talk with him?" Yuui asked firmly.

 

"Mm… well you can if you want, but I really think he is a good pup. Since he didn't believe rocks are alive, he took out whatever was upsetting him on it, rather than intentionally hurt any of us. And even after I came out in the sun, he pushed my hand back under my cover. He can be really considerate."

 

Yuui sighed and sat down on Fai's bed. "That's not quite how it works." He couldn't really fault Fai for the misunderstanding. It wasn't something he had explained in great detail. "Anyway, you said you weren't going to call him a pup. So, how did it go? Did he tell you anything else?"

 

"A little bit … I did find out he has a little sister too."

 

"Is she anything like him?" Yuui asked, a bit curious.

 

"Mm, well yes and no. She sounded very protective and strong, but not a Slayer. From Kuro pup's words, if they wouldn't eat it, she wouldn't kill it."

 

"I see," Yuui lightly murmured. "At least he won't have to worry about her being sold as a Slayer."

 

"That's true," Fai agreed. "I'm sure that's at least one less thing he has to worry about, even if he is still concerned about how she is doing."

 

"Well, that's how it is with brothers and their little sisters," Yuui commented. 


End file.
